Sed Lex Dura Lex
by SimonandJace
Summary: Takes place AFTER CoHF After the war, the responsibility of running the New York Institute falls to Alec. How will he keep his relationship with Magnus from the Clave and protect his friends? How will Simon rise up to meet the newest and most dangerous challenge? Read and find out :) (Malec, Sizzy, Clace, and hints of Jimon
1. Chapter 1

The process always gave Simon that feeling of jumpy excitement in his stomach, like when he rode roller coasters every summer with Clary and they rocketed down a hill, adrenaline making them dizzy.

He hated that feeling.

"Ready?" Magnus's voice was scarily soothing, like a trained psychologist.

"Yeah." He confirmed, trying to brace himself. Every other day for the past two weeks he'd come to Magnus's apartment, only staying for about an hour because that's all he could take before he was too exhausted to keep going. Getting your old memories forced back into your mind at the glittering hand of a warlock wasn't easy.

Still, he knew he had to do it. Even if it hurt like hell, which it totally did. He remembered once, when he was ten, he'd fallen off his bike and given himself a minor concussion. Later he'd told Clary with faux toughness that it had pretty much felt like someone pulling screws from his skull.

It was like that in reverse now, like someone was pounding his memories back into his brain with a very heavy hammer. Once they were there, he had to decipher them. Like staring at splashes of color and trying to see an image.

In the midst of his musings, Simon was caught off guard when Magnus began. It was like a sudden, pounding hit. Every day he underestimated it, because really there was no clear way to accurately remember the pain.

A vision of blue struck him, blue and white with a very extreme light pushing against his eyelids. There were people there, maybe two or three, and a hard surface beneath him. There was something warming his skin. It couldn't be the sun, he thought vaguely, he'd been a vampire. Someone had said something to him. A girl's voice...Clary...

Suddenly, like a light switch, the memories stopped and Magnus had pulled his hand away.

Simon blinked, trying to get himself out of the half-aware, half-trance state he was in. He let his eyes focus just in time to see Jace standing in front of him, looking down with a smirk on his face.

"I don't even get a hello, Lewis?"

Without enough energy to respond, Simon merely made a "mmn" noise and leaned back against the couch, closing his eyes again.

"What's wrong with him?" Jace asked Magnus, who was talking down an extremely upset Alec.

"We were doing memory reconditioning." Magnus explained. "He's exhausted."

"Oh. I didn't mean to interrupt." Alec said, sounding stressed. "I just...they just..."

"The Clave wants to get rid of Robert." Jace announced for him, dropping down beside Simon and taking his water bottle to drink from.

"What? Why?"

"The affair." Alec seemed to recover from his state of hesitance. "They think it makes him unreliable."

Magnus took Alec by the hand and led him to sit across from Jace and Simon, the coffee table in between them. Magnus disappeared into the kitchen to get drinks, leaving Jace to watch his parabatai with worry.

He'd been, basically, in a state of mental breakdown ever since the Clave's verdict. Jace could tell. Alec had little habits to pull on the sleeves of his sweater and push his hand through his hair until it looked like he'd never even attempted to brush it that morning.

But Alec would never admit his own internal conflict, so he focused on something else instead.

"Do you think he's always like this after getting his memories back?" Alec gestured at Simon, whose eyes were still shut and shoulder still slumped.

"It's gotta be tiring." Jace observed, still watching Alec's thin fingers tugging on a loose thread on his sweater.

"It IS." Simon exclaimed, his eyes snapping open. "God and it gives you a headache." He complained, massaging his temples.

"But what'd you remember today?" Jace asked.

"I don't know." Simon sounded frustrated, his voice strained. "I couldn't see anything but a big colorful mess."

"Your whole life was a big colorful mess." Jace commented, slapping Simon's hand away from where he was pressing his knuckles to his temple with increasing force.

Magnus stepped back into the living room with tea for Alec and Simon, handing it to both of them while Jace made a face of shocked indignation.

"I am a guest in this loft, why don't I get a drink?"

"Well Simon gets one because you interrupted his treatment and it messed up his head." Magnus dead panned.

"It was Alec who interrupted!" Jace whined. "I just followed him here!"

"Well I love Alec, so." Magnus smirked and kissed Alec on the cheek, who tried to smile. "Okay so back to the topic. You're worried about your Father?"

"Um, yeah I guess you could say that." Alec bit his lip and set the mug down, both hands wrapped around the sides.

"But also, we'd need a new head of the Institute."

"So Mayrse."

Alec shook his head. "That's the worst part. At the Clave meeting they're having tonight, they'll choose whether or not to let her run it."

"Why wouldn't they?" Simon asked, energized only enough to pay attention.

"Nephilim take marriage very seriously." Alec explained. "Once you choose to marry someone, you chose to spend your entire life by their side. Robert broke that deal. But at the same time, Mom knew about it. And she did nothing."

"That seems like a small detail." Magnus said. "Too small to prevent her from running an Institute."

"You know how we are." Alec sighed, gesturing widely with one hand. "Nephilim are drastic. We take things too seriously."

"It's why they sent Helen away." Jace said quietly, staring down at the table. "One little imperfection and you're eliminated."

"An imperfection like being gay." Alec spoke up, looking at Magnus with hesitance. He really wished the situation would go any other way, but he had no choice here. "Magnus, I'm 19 now. I'm the only one who can run the Institute. But if they know...about us, they won't let me."

"Wait," Simon interjected. "What happens if you can't?"

"We get sent to the nearest Institute." Jace told him. "Which is the Boston Institute."

They all watched the color drain out of Simon's face completely. "I...I can't go to Boston." He said quickly, panicking. "My family...my Mom..."

"Which is why I'm going to run the Institute." Alec assured him. "But the only way I can do that is to keep our relationship from the Clave."

Magnus looked almost conflicted by it. He'd thought that after the war, there was nothing left to settle. That he and Alec could fix things now, work on everything. But hiding their relationship from the Clave meant hiding their relationship from everyone. Every downworlder, every Nephilim beside his friends, everyone. How would they manage? He couldn't do that.

"I can do that." He smiled, cupping Alec's cheek gently in his hand and kissing him, making the two boys across from them both increasingly uncomfortable. When they broke away, Jace stood up and walked over to where he'd dumped his coat, pulling it on and throwing Simon his.

"Where are we going?" Simon whined, petulantly ignoring the jacket and crossing his arms. "I don't want to."

"I know you won't want to, but you're coming anyways." Jace insisted, pulling his hood up and opening the door.

"Coming where?"

"We're going to clean out an apartment."

"Jace, no." Magnus shook his head. "He isn't ready for that, he doesn't even remember him."

Simon scowled at him. "Don't talk about me like I'm not here. Who is it? You said I remembered everyone I needed to."

"Everyone you need to...right now. We have to wait, Simon, I can't give you everything all at once."

"Well this person seems pretty important!" He exclaimed, raising his voice a level. "And why do you get to choose who I remember and when I remember them?"

"He should remember. Jordan would want him to-"

"Who...who the hell is Jordan?" Simon demanded, watching as Jace's expression turned to one of clenched pain and grief.

"This is why I was going to wait." Magnus groaned. "He's not ready emotionally. Neither are you, Jace."

"Who are you to decide that?" Jace sputtered, clearly taken aback that Magnus addressed it so directly. No one talked to Jace about it because everyone knew he would ignore them.

Still, it was obvious that Jace grieved for Jordan just as much, if not more, than the rest of the Shadowhunters.

He'd never had many friends. It had always been just his siblings and Clary. Of course the moment he got attached to anyone else, one of them forgot him completely and the other was stabbed in the chest by his girlfriend's brother.

"I'm telling you, it's a bad idea."

"Well if we don't go today, all of his stuff is getting thrown out." Jace said flatly. "And God knows there aren't any Praetors left to take it."


	2. Chapter 2

"I remember this being a lot smaller." Jace commented, standing next to Simon in the empty living room and watching dust particles dance in the sunlight from the windows.

"I don't remember this at all." Simon shook his head. "And apparently it was pretty important."

"Give me your necklace." Jace held a hand out. Simon reached behind his neck to unclasp the silver chain that had been there as long as he could remember. He pooled the chain in Jace's open palm and watched him gently turn it over in his hand. "Beati Bellicosi." Jace read. "Do you know what that means?"

"Um..." Simon shrugged. "My sister gave it to me. From when she went to Italy."

"No she didn't." Jace said flatly. "This inscription here means 'blessed are the warriors.' It's the slogan of the Praetor Lupus."

"What?"

"Jordan Kyle was a member of the Preators. He was assigned to protect you." Jace said, his voice mechanic like he was reading from a textbook. "You lived here with him. That's his room, over there on the left. He spent all his energy protecting you, which wasn't easy because everyone tried to kill you all the time." Jace took a deep breath, which shook a little. "He went to the Praetor headquarters at the start of the war. While he was there, he found that the place had been burned to the ground. Every praetor was dead. Sebastian...stabbed him in the chest. He died on the beach within five minutes."

There was a long, drawn out silence that followed as Jace gently handed him back the medallion. Simon stared at it in his open palm, looked at the stamped wolf print and remembered wondering why the hell there was a wolf print on it. "Maia Roberts." He blurted.

Jace looked stunned. "What?"

"What?" Simon squeezed his eyes closed. "I don't know. Who is that? Why did I say that?"

"You tell me." Jace arched an eyebrow.

"I just...it just popped into my mind. A girl with brown hair. And um..." Jace watched in fascination as he closed his eyes tight and made spastic gestures with both hands. "A mark."

Realization dawned on Jace's face and he literally bounced on his heels. "The mark of Cain! Yes! You had that when Jordan lived here. You're remembering without Magnus's help."

He looked at Simon, his smile disappearing when he noticed the look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"He was my best friend, wasn't he?"

"He was a good guy." Jace said simply, moving to stand behind Simon and taking the necklace from him. He carefully drew it back over Simon's neck and opened the clasp. "He wanted you to have this so you would remember him. If Magnus wants to deny his dying wish then...Magnus is a dick. Please don't tell Alec I said that."

Simon grinned and nodded, putting two fingers over the medallion, like he was looking for a pulse. "I don't know what he looked like."

"Um, like both our girlfriends thought he was hot." Jace laughed, watching a ghost of a smile come to Simon's face.

"We're going to be in trouble with Magnus when we get back."

"So let's go to the Institute." Jace decided, hastily stepping back from Simon, apparently done with his moments of compassion.

"So you can make out with Clary." He said flatly. "God is that all you do?"

He sighed. "That's the last time I'll ever try and cheer you up, Lewis."

Sitting alone without Magnus next to him wouldn't be so bad on any normal occasion.

Right now though, Alec knew that if his Father hadn't fucked up years ago, he could just walk over to where Magnus was rocking back and forth in his chair and collapse next to him.

Another reason to hate his Father, apparently.

"Let the council come into session."

Jia Penhallow was standing at the center of the room, her robes pooling at her feet in waves of white. "Is the representative for the Night Children in our company?"

Alec turned his head to find Lily, seated a few rows away from him. She was leaning back in her seat, draping her legs over the chair in front of her.

What the hell was she doing here?

"I get that I'm only here because you all feel guilty about Raphael." She spoke up, her voice echoing in the silence. "But I could care less."

"The death of Raphael Santiago has nothing to do with this." Jia responded. "Although the nephilim do extend our deepest apologies."

Lily shrugged. "So why am I here then?"

"This is in regards to the daylighter."

Alec sat forward in his seat, looking at Magnus in alarm and then quickly looking away, praying no one saw it.

He heard Magnus stand, beginning to speak. "What does Simon have to do with anything?" Magnus demanded. "This was a meeting about the fate of the New York Institute."

"There are other matters, Magnus Bane, please be seated."

"The daylighter isn't a daylighter anymore." Lily said flatly. "So why is he any of my concern?"

"It has come to the Clave's attention that there needs to be a discussion about our newest ascending Shadowhunters." Jia said, inclining her head and looking at Lily. "After the Dark War we've been recruiting new Nephilim left and right. We have forgotten our own values. We cannot let the sanctity of the nephilim be dishonored."

"Are you saying...you don't think Simon has the right values to be a Shadowhunter?" Magnus echoed in disbelief, his cat eyes wide and upset.

"He was a downworlder a short time ago." Jia continued, the look on her face contradicting her words. Alec knew that Jia was a good person, never one to be judgmental against any shadowhunter. She had to have been put up to this against her will.

"I thought we were past the judgment against downworlders." Magnus said coldly. "We signed the Accords. What does it matter if he was a vampire?"

"A shadowhunter has purely angel blood in them. We can't make exceptions for anyone, especially a former downworlder."

Even from across the room, Alec could tell from the look on Magnus's face meant his anger was lingering on the border of danger.

"He's saved our lives. He saved Isabelle Lightwood, he saved me, he saved Jace-"

"He did those with his vampiric blood." Jia interrupted, apology clear on her face.

"This is unbelievable." Magnus sighed, banging his fist against the table. "So you won't let Simon ascend?"

"We have conditions." Jia said. "Aside from training normally, all new ascending Shadowhunters will have to destroy a demon's nest in one origin of the city." She looked over at Alec. "And they must do so alone."

"That's ridiculous and stupid." Magnus deadpanned. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? No other nephilim has ever had to do this, why are you making Simon do it?"

"It isn't only Simon." She responded, sounding impatient with the topic. "And many would say that you and the rest of the New York Shadowhunters would be bias towards the notion to protect your friend, wouldn't you agree?"

Magnus opened and closed his mouth, rendered speechless. Of course they would all be bias, and of course that's the method the Clave would use to shut them up.

"Now then," Jia moved on. "To the topic of Robert and Mayrse Lightwood."

"Can I go?" Lily asked loudly, standing up. "I don't see a point to this."

"No, you'll need to remain here so you can be questioned after the meeting."

Alec felt spikes of alarm in his chest, looking back at Lily and watching her shrug and sit back down, pulling out her bright blue phone to play games on. Why would the Clave need to question Lily? It had to be about Simon. He was suddenly aware of Jia talking, remembering with a jolt that he was supposed to be paying attention and turned back around.

"...the details, which we do not need to repeat, for the removal of Robert Lightwood as head of the New York Institute." She looked over at Alec. "The vote has already been concluded, and Mayrse Lightwood is no longer viable to run the institute."

"Wait, what?" Alec stood up, his hands gripping the seat in front of him. "You already took the vote?"

"It was taken at Idris-"

"Why?" Alec demanded, forcing himself not to look at Magnus. "Why wasn't I there?"

"The Clave-"

"Yeah," He sank back down into his seat, slumping down and staring at the table in front of him. "The Clave. Right."

"Alexander." Jia was trying to be gentle. "Come to the front."

He heaved a dramatic sigh and stood up, striding down the long number of steps to the center of the room, facing the handful of people that made up the Council.

"You don't have to make the decision now, but as the oldest member of the New York Institute, we request that you be the head. If you choose not to, all Shadowhunters at the Institute will be relocated."

"To Boston." He said, glancing back at her. "Right?"

"You and Jace will go to Boston." She confirmed, flipping a paper and scanning it. "Clary Fairchild will be moved to the Philadelphia Institute, and Isabelle will be located Connecticut."

"What?" His ears rang, his mouth dry and stopping any new words from being spoken.

"Why are they all being separated?" Magnus demanded. "What good will that serve?"

"Soldiers are needed in every area." She said simply. "The parabatais will be kept together by Covenant law."

"They aren't soldiers, they're children." Magnus said, his voice clear and precise. "They already fought their war, you can't tear them apart."

"Magnus Bane if you cannot keep your opinion out of this meeting you will be asked to leave." Jia said, clearly done with arguments. Normally Alec would sympathize with her. Obviously she didn't want to make these decisions and these appositions were killing her with guilt. But he didn't care right now and he hated her.

"I'll do it." Alec finally blurted. "I'll run the Institute, I'll do anything."

"You're aware of the conditions and limits you have to running an Institute, correct?"

He nodded. "I am."

"Thank you, Alexander, the Clave extends its deepest gratitude." Jia sighed, looking exhausted as if the meeting has worn her down. "The meeting is dismissed. Lily, if you'll follow me."

Alec stayed glued to his spot, watching Lily cross in front of him and smirk, her fangs flashing white. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach that wouldn't go away, a sense of dread that had anchored itself deep inside of him. He helplessly looked over at Magnus, who was standing near the door.

His cat eyes caught Alec's, an apologetic look on his face. Alec wanted to run to him, to bury his face in his shirt and feel him push his fingers through Alec's dark hair, hear him say that everything would be alright.

Instead, Magnus turned and walked out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

"This is ridiculous. It's dangerous, and unlawful, and...and a disgrace!" Isabelle paced up and down the length of Jace's room, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor with rhythm.

"A disgrace to who?" Simon asked, lifting his head from Jace's mountain of pillows to arch an eyebrow at her.

"To Nephilim." She said venomously. "They act like they're purifying our race, they're only making it worse! We depend on our fellow warriors, that's why we have parabatai bonds! And now they're forcing you to do something this dangerous. Alone."

"I'm fine with it, really." He let his head fall back.

"You're what?" Alec asked dubiously. "Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? You aren't a Shadowhunter yet."

"Yeah but I have the training." He shrugged. "And they said I can use the weapons."

"But _we_ won't be there." Jace protested. "You'll be alone. Do you have any idea what a demon nest is like? They're everywhere. Picture the cave in Edom, but filled with demons. All poisonous ones."

"Thanks so much, Jace, this is really helpful."

"You shouldn't be so calm about this." He insisted. "You could very easily die."

Simon knew that. He didn't want to die, of course, but on the other hand he understood why this was happening. He'd been invited to kill demons by people he couldn't even remember, had to watch them endure so much pain when he didn't remember small details about them.

If he didn't remember anything, did it even really happen?

He knew how he'd met them all. His first impressions. Jace had tackled him. Isabelle had flirted with him. Alec hated him. Magnus threw a party with magical drinks. But the rest was blurry. He had certain memories, important ones, but he didn't know when they happened or why. What happened after. It was like flipping open a book and reading one paragraph.

He wasn't really a Shadowhunter, not that he knew. They told him he was a great fighter and he sacrificed his safety for them, but he didn't have the satisfaction of remembering it.

He wanted to earn his way into being a Shadowhunter, and he wanted to remember earning it.

"I better start training, then." He said finally, sitting up and abandoning the strong scent of smoke and Jace's cologne. "So I don't die and everything."

"Okay, give me a minute." Isabelle called after him, watching the door shut and looking helplessly over at her brothers. "Do you think he's acting or just really calm about it?"

"I can't tell." Jace shrugged. "But he shouldn't be calm. He should be terrified."

"This is my fault." Alec finally said, his voice tense. "It's all my fault."

"No it isn't, Alec, you couldn't have stopped their decision. The Clave is crazy." Jace told him.

"No." He stopped, hesitating. "After the meeting, Jia talked to me. She told me that she didn't favor the law, she thought it was dangerous. But she was instructed to ask me about Simon. I told her that he was one of the strongest fighters I knew, that he was nothing short of a soldier." He took a deep breath. "I told her that he saved Isabelle in Edom after she...after she was injured. She asked how he'd done that and I told her the whole deal with his blood. Then...then she asked how he survived without enough blood and..."

"Oh my god, Alec." Isabelle groaned, pushing her fingers through her hair.

"She...she said that a Shadowhunter was never someone who would drink the blood of their friends. I told her that it was to save his life."

"What did she say to that?"

He took a shaky breath and looked up at them. "Sed Lex Dura Lex. The law is hard but it is the law."

Simon could tell from the way Magnus's eyes immediately shifted over his shoulder, peering into the hallway, that he was looking for Alec.

"He isn't here." Simon announced, dropping his jacket on the ground where a coatrack use to be. He still wore a long sleeved black shirt, which Magnus thought was an odd choice for such a warm night. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Magnus said breezily, striding into the living room and kneeling on the floor. "Sit down, let's start."

Simon nodded and joined him, expecting the usual prelim and jolting back when Magnus immediately put a hand up.

"Ready?"

"Um...sure." Simon braced himself, straightening his back.

It hit him in a quick, sharp stab. It was different this time, like a needle in every inch of his mind. Colors and blurs were mixing together quickly, not giving him time to decipher anything. He saw day and night all at once, faces and voices echoing into one continuous shriek. It was agonizing.

"M-Magnus stop!" He forced himself to push Magnus's arm away, collapsing back and clutching his head. The images stopped, leaving him with the blurry sight of Magnus sitting still, his arm still partially outstretched.

"I'm sorry." Magnus finally said. "Are you alright?"

"No! What the hell was that? That hurt!" He whined, still covering his eyes from the bright apartment lights.

"I...I tried to go too fast. I thought maybe-"

"You wanted to give me as many memories as you could because I'm going to get myself killed tomorrow?" Simon snapped, sitting upright. "I don't care. God, I know no one assumes I can do this, and I probably can't, but have enough faith in me to know that I'm not dumb enough to get myself killed."

"It's not about-"

"Would you be worried about Jace doing this? Or Isabelle, or Alec, or even Clary?" He fumed, clenching his fists so that his nails dug into his palms.

"Yes." Magnus said fiercely. "I would."

Simon scoffed. "Right."

"Do you honestly think I would willingly let any of them do this? I don't want to see YOU do this, and I can't remember your name half the time! It's dishonorable. It's vicious. An attack against downworlders like you and me."

"I'm not a downworlder." Simon said bleakly. "I'm a mundane."

"You're not a mundane." Magnus shook his head. "You're meant to be a Shadowhunter. I know it. And you shouldn't have to do this in order to become one."

"Well I guess that's my only choice." Simon said, standing up and holding out his hand. "You can take things from anywhere you want. Give me my weapons."

"Now?" Magnus asked, startled.

"Now. Give them to me. My seraph blades and my stele and-"

"_No._" Magnus shook his head frantically, helplessly putting his hands behind his back. "I'm not letting you go now. You aren't ready."

"Fine. Then I'll go without weapons."

There was a determined glint in his eyes that proved to Magnus that no matter what he did, Simon wasn't stopping. He was trying so hard to become a Shadowhunter and he was frustrated beyond belief. He was in a dangerous, self destructive state.

He would literally do anything.

"Okay." Magnus quietly gave him everything he needed, handing it to him and watching him dutifully strap on every dagger and knife to his wrists, wrapped in black bands with seraph blades hanging securely by his weapons belt. "Be careful, Simon."

"If I don't come back," Simon began, stepping towards him with sincerity in his eyes. "Give this to Jace." He reached behind his neck to unhook Jordan's necklace, dropping it in Magnus's palm. "And give this to Isabelle." He reached into his pocket and pressed a small, neatly folded piece of notebook paper into his hand. "And Clary..."

"She'll understand." Magnus said quickly. "That you don't have anything to give her."

Simon just stared at him, something unreadable in his eyes. "Just tell her...that the memories with her didn't hurt as bad as the others."


	4. Chapter 4

"I know I'm not supposed to be talking to you, but I need to tell you something..."

Alec started the message again, listening intently for details. He'd listened to it nearly 20 times already, the first 5 times so he could register what it meant. "I think he's going to the area near Avenue B and 11th. He brought seraph blades with him...Alec, I know that you can't intervene in the actual fight but maybe just try and stop him before he gets there? I don't know. Anyways, I'm sorry if this gets you in trouble. I love you."

Then the line went dead and it asked in an automated voice if he wanted to replay the message. Alec just shoved his phone in his pocket and tried to pick up his pace a bit. He couldn't run now, not when he was in such a highly populated area of demonic activity. Still, he had to go fast if he wanted to find Simon.

And he HAD to find Simon. He was vital to the happiness of all the Shadowhunters. Alec would of course be upset if something were to happen to Simon, but, in all honesty, he would move on.

Isabelle wouldn't. Neither would Jace or Clary. They would live mourning him, and Alec could only stop that from happening if he walked fast enough to find Simon in the next five minutes.

He stopped at the corner of 11th, peering down into the opening.

The nest was built next to an industrial building, nestled in a wide and extremely poorly lit alley. Whenever anyone tried to do construction on that part of the city, they were simply whisked away by well hidden Clave officials. The demons nesting there didn't bother humans until they had grown, but to destroy a nest meant diminishing maybe 1/4 of the population of demons in the city.

A pretty big deal.

From what he could tell, most demons were prowling around the city tonight. If he had even been thinking it through, Simon had made a pretty good choice on when to go. It was hot out tonight, and demons needed to separate to keep their body temperatures cold. That meant the nest was relatively empty, but he could still count nearly 6 Drevak demons from where he crouched.

Instead of staying there where he could easily be killed, Alec grabbed the closest ledge on the building next to him, using his momentum to pull himself up and get a firm grip on the bricks.

About halfway up the building he looked down and smirked. Jace could never climb this quickly.

He pulled himself over the top, sprawling on the cold concrete, breathing heavily. He stared up at the moon and sighed. All this for Simon freaking Lewis.

He sat up, staring down at the alley and keeping a watchful eye for Simon to show up. His plan was to see him coming down the street and hop down to talk to him. He wasn't exactly sure HOW he was going to get down, but he would figure that out later.

Suddenly his phone began to vibrate in his pocket, Magnus's name lighting up the screen. "Hey," He answered, leaning back on his hands.

"Hey, um, did you...?"

"I'm at 11th street." Alec said, hearing Magnus tense over the phone. "I mean...I'm above 11th street. On that old industrial building."

"Oh. Um. Great job, then."

"Are you worried?" Alec asked, staring at the view he had of the city. The lights were glittering brightly against the night and it made him shiver despite the warm air.

"I don't want you to get hurt."

His stomach clenched. He closed his eyes. "I...I meant about Simon..."

"Oh."

"But thank you?"

A silence and then a short laugh, making the pressure loosen in his chest. "I tell you I'm worried about you and you THANK me? Honestly Alec."

"I don't know!" He exclaimed. "I miss you."

"I miss you too." Magnus responded, his voice on octave lower than usual. "I'll see you again soon."

"Maybe." He sighed, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "But once I'm running the institute, I'm running it forever. Until I die. Can we really hide ourselves from the Clave forever?"

"We can." Magnus said firmly. "Robert went years without anyone knowing about the affair. And our friends won't say anything."

"I don't want to lie." Alec said suddenly, almost unable to believe that he was actually saying this. "That makes me no better than my dad."

"No, Alec, what you're doing...being with me...isn't wrong." Magnus insisted. "Robert did a horrible thing. He hurt your mother, and you and Isabelle and Max. You wouldn't hurt anyone. You protect people, Alec, it's your life."

Alec smiled softly. "So do you."

"Yeah but I'm a cheater. I have magic." Magnus responded, his voice serious enough to make Alec laugh. "Even if I can't see you as much as we'd like, I'll always love you. You just have to promise me something."

"What?"

"Be safe."

Alec smiled, closing his eyes and seeing the imprints of the stars against his eyelids. "I will. And I-"

He was interrupted by the sound of crunching metal below him, clicking against the pavement. His heart rate quickened as he sat up quickly, tuning out whatever Magnus was saying as he looked down over the ledge of the building.

His heart sank into his stomach when he saw Simon, both hands gripping a blade, standing directly in front of a pack of demons, his face determined and attack ready.

Alec cursed quietly. He'd gotten distracted, hadn't even noticed Simon walking down the street. He'd let him walk right into a death trap.

Alec clutched the rim of the roof while he watched the demons surge towards Simon, only three attacking at once. He was actually doing a pretty good job, at one point even doing an impressive spiral shot straight into a Dravak's heart. That went on for awhile, Alec noticing in alarm when a larger group had begun to surround him.

Then he made his fatal mistake.

Simon had slowly made his way toward the nest, a large gathering of metal scraps and old furniture that had young demons nestled in the center. He now stood with his back to it, and when he pulled his arm back to take another slice at a Drevak, his sword jammed into a small crevice of the nest.

A loud clanging noise originated from the alley, Alec able to tell from where he watched that Simon was panicking.

It was a lesson they had all learned from studying.

Once you made contact with a demon's nest, they would stop at nothing to devour you.

Simon quickly and swiftly pulled the sword out of where it had jammed, sending it straight into the eye of the demon closest to him. He used his other arm to stab one with his seraph, the glow lighting up the entire alley.

The entirety of the next minute seemed to pass in slow motion. Countless hours spent studying demons had taught Alec about the needles inside of a Drevak's mouth. The codex described them as venomous and extremely dangerous.

That explained the sinking feeling he felt as he watched Simon, tired and sweating and giving the fight all he had in him, miss his target and stumble forward. His arm was directly in front of one of the beasts, giving it the perfect opportunity to sink it's elongated needle teeth into Simon's arm.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N - I'm sorry for this incredibly short chapter :c But I'll have another one up this afternoon. Thank you all so much for reviewing and reading!

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Simon screamed, his voice agonized and filled to the brim with pain while Alec's heart hammered in his chest, throwing itself against his ribcage. He stood up, unslinging his crossbow from his back and quickly loading an arrow in, sending it flying toward the beast that had bitten Simon, making it fall to the ground.

If Simon was surprised, he didn't show it. He probably couldn't register what was going on, but still he stayed upright. Alec loaded arrow after arrow, letting the demons drop to the ground one by one, ichor spilling onto the concrete. He began to aim for the nest, killing the newborn demons the best he could from where he stood.

After he was sure they were all dead, he climbed down until he was at a safe enough distance to jump down, sprinting to where Simon had collapsed, his arm pouring blood. There were needles embedded in his skin, making his arm look like a gruesome prop in a horror movie.

"Oh, God. Simon." Alec knelt down, holding him by the shoulders and propping him up on his knee. "Simon."

Simon merely coughed, blood trickling down his jaw slowly, making Alec fear for what the poison was doing to his body already. He frantically pulled his phone out, hitting the instant dialling for Magnus's number.

"Alec?"

"Come here, hurry, 11th street. Hurry."

And he hung up, dropping his phone to the ground as he let his hand hesitantly hover over Simon's arm. He didn't know how to treat Drevak bites, not without runes. Shadowhunters used Iratzes for every injury, and without them he was lost.

"...'Lec" Simon was trying to speak, his entire frame shuddering with pain.

"Shh, it's okay." Alec said softly. "You're okay. You're one of the toughest fighters I know, Simon, this little bite won't kill you."

"Did...did I do it?" He asked, his eyes shining brightly through his mask of blood and dirt. His skin was gray and hot to the touch.

"Yeah, you did. You killed them all."

Simon smiled widely, his eyelids fluttering shut as he continued to lean against Alec.

"You'll be alright." Alec whispered, praying with all his heart that it was true. He remembered what Magnus told him, hearing it echo continuously in his mind as he waited for someone to come and felt Simon's struggling heart beat.

_'You protect people, Alec, it's your life._'


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N - So I am totally willing to do more prompts that anyone messages to me in order to entertain myself over the summer :) Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and read **

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Magnus needed sleep a hell of a lot more than any of the freeloaders who were crashing on his couch.

But they looked so peaceful, and earlier half of them had been in tears, so he let them sleep and drank stolen coffee to stay awake.

He was back to work now, gazing forlornly at the remaining needles in his patient's arm. There had to be at least 8 left, some broken into smaller fragments and embedded in his skin.

Simon had woken up at one point, too in pain to form a coherent thought, but Magnus figured it would be easier to sedate him. He'd removed what seemed like dozens of needles, careful as he did it. It was an art, really. If you moved too fast you could damage a nerve or muscle. But if you went too slow, it was more painful and more likely to wake Simon.

He was halfway through retrieving one when someone opened the door. "Shh." He said immediately, engulfed in concentration. "Don't speak."

Whoever it was obeyed, waiting until Magnus had fully removed the needle from Simon, pressing a washcloth to the now bleeding wound.

"Permission to speak?"

"Yes, Jace."

The Shadowhunter smirked and walked in, leaning against the wall and staring down at Simon. "That looks like it hurts." He said simply, obviously trying to keep a light tone.

"It does. He can't feel it as long as he stays asleep, though." Magnus glanced up at Jace, the question only just now surfacing. "Why aren't YOU asleep?"

"I couldn't." Jace shrugged, looking down at the Praetor necklace that had been hanging securely around his neck since Magnus had given it to him. "Took awhile to get out of Clary's death grip."

"She's just worried." Magnus said, removing the washcloth and beginning to extract another needle. Jace winced and looked away.

"Yeah, I know." He said, still staring at the wall.

"Damn!" Magnus jerked back suddenly, panic clear in his expression. "Oh god."

"What?" Jace stepped forward. "What happened?"

"I...shit...um..." Magnus removed his hand from the wound, revealing the sight of a needle that was placed adjacently in Simon's arm, a product of Magnus rushing the process and accidentally jamming the spike farther into his skin. Simon's eyes flew open as he immediately tried to sit up, only being pushed back by Magnus.

"What did you DO?" Jace demanded, standing above Simon and watching as he desperately moved his other hand to his arm, trying to figure out the source of piercing pain that coursed through his entire body.

"Just, come here." Magnus stood, taking Jace by the shoulders and pushing him in the empty chair. He shoved a washcloth into Jace's hand. "Stay with him, don't let him touch it, keep him from hyperventilating."

"What? No, Magnus, stay here, I don't-" Jace's begging was ignored by Magnus, who quickly disappeared out the door.

Suddenly he was alone with Simon, whose soft whimpers were beginning to escalate into actual screams of pain. He grit his teeth, his cheeks flushed an intense red as he doubled over.

"Hey it's okay." Jace said softly, leaning forward. "Shh, it's alright, it's okay."

"G-get Magnus." Simon gasped, blindly reaching his hand up to the wound.

"He's coming." Jace said, stopping Simon from touching the wound with a hand on his wrist. "Don't do that."

Simon closed his eyes, tears trickling down his cheeks as he slid his hand down to grasp Jace's, his grip almost painful. Not that Jace was about to complain and tell a screaming boy to stop disfiguring his hand.

If he could, Jace would be outside in the hallway right now, trying to muffle the sound of Simon's pained sobbing.

Instead, he pressed the washcloth Magnus had forced into his hands against Simon's neck and tolerated the surprisingly strong grip that he kept.

He must have been doing something right, because after awhile Simon's fit had subsided back into silent tears and small whimpering sounds, somehow keeping his death grip.

When Magnus stepped back inside, he looked surprised enough by the silence. Jace glared at him. "Don't ever leave me alone like that again."

"You seemed to be fine." Magnus said, unable to keep the slight smirk off his face when he saw the hand situation.

"Seriously, what did you do to him?"

"I don't know!" Jace exclaimed, straightening up only to be petulantly tugged back down by Simon, who seemed to be half awake now, his chest still rising and falling alarmingly fast.

Magnus walked over with a bottle of clear liquid in his hands, removing Jace from the seat and separating Jace's hand from Simon's. He splashed the strongly scented liquid on the washcloth and paused.

"Simon." He put a hand to the side of Simon's burning face and forced him to make eye contact. "This is going to hurt like no other pain you will ever feel in your lifetime."

"What are you going to do?" Jace asked.

"It would be easiest if I just pull every needle out now. So I am going to pull out six needles at once."

Simon whimpered softly, closing his eyes and shrinking down against the headboard. "Can...Can I see Isabelle?"

"No." Magnus took Jace by the shoulder again and maneuvered him around the bed. "You get Jace. Okay, are you ready?"

"Mhm."

"Okay." Magnus sighed and pressed the washcloth against his arm, noting how Simon's entire body tensed, his hand finding Jace's again. Magnus tried to remove the needles as quickly as possible without doing what he'd done last time. It took a few minutes of muffled cries of pain from Simon and curse words from Jace when he claimed a thousand times that his hand was broken.

"Alright, I'm done." Magnus watched Simon's eyelids flutter closed, Jace pulling his hand away and gently tugging the covers up around him. "Okay, well," Magnus sighed and stood up. "I'm too tired to care anymore so I'm going to go sleep with your parabatai and you can stay here."

"Great. Thanks." Jace resumed his spot when Magnus left, watching Simon's chest rise and fall steadily before he unhooked Jordan's necklace and set it on the night table. "This belongs to you," He whispered to Simon. "You know, because you managed to stay alive and everything."

After that night Simon seemed to feel progressively better. By the time they woke up the next morning, Simon got to soak in the gratification of being the only one out of all of them to destroy a demon's nest.

Or so they thought.

"And you got some pretty badass battle scars." Isabelle remarked, tracing a lone cut on his shoulder. "So that's a plus."

"Yeah I did that for you." He responded, grimacing when Magnus pressed a hand to his arm. "Can you please stop? That's unpleasant."

"I disagree. Some say that I have the touch of angels."

"I've felt the touch of an angel." Simon said. "It's not a compliment."

"Don't make me regret keeping you alive." Magnus responded, looking over at Alec, who was slumped in his seat, his eyes fixed on the coffee table. "You okay?"

"Hm?" Alec looked up at him, his eyes wide and puppy-like. Adorable. "Yeah, I'm fine. I wish Jace and Clary would hurry up with the food."

"Magnus, can't you make whatever you want like, appear in front of you?" Simon asked. "For free?"

"I was doing you a favor." Magnus replied nonchalantly, unwrapping the bandage from his arm. "I thought you needed a break from their hovering."

"Thanks." Simon nodded, leaning his head against Isabelle's shoulder. She kissed him once and proceeded to play with his hair.

"Clary always talks about how great Jace is." She said suddenly, getting a sideways glance from Alec. "But my boyfriend exterminated a whole nest."

"He nearly died." Alec interjected. "Look at his arm."

"Yeah, but-"

"And you guys are okay with that?" Alec asked, leaning forward in his chair, a look of incredulous disgust on his face. "You're going to ignore the fact that he was up screaming all night from pain? Don't act like you didn't hear it, I _know_ you did. And Magnus thought he was going to _die_-"

"Alec, stop it." Magnus put a hand up.

"It's just, maybe if you...could..._stop glorifying a suicide mission!"_ He finally blurted, standing up and sulking into the bedroom.

"What was that about?" Simon asked, mystified.

"I have no idea." Magnus admitted, staring at the closed door to the room. Why Alec had been so silent and jumpy was beyond him, but he hadn't expected an outburst like that. It occurred to him that it was probably because Alec had been the only one there to really _watch _what had happened. Still, he'd seemed so...tense. Even now, when Simon was safe and sitting upright on the couch with Isabelle next to him.

"Are you gonna go talk to him?" Isabelle asked, staring at Magnus expectantly.

"You know he doesn't like that." Magnus decided finally, continuing to re-wrap Simon's arm. "I'm going to avoid confrontation, it's easier with Alec."

And that was true, Alec hated confrontation. But something else was keeping Magnus away. Alec had a reason for being upset, something only he knew. If Magnus asked, he was sure Alec would tell him.

But he wasn't sure he wanted the answer.


	7. Chapter 7

"This still counts, right?" Simon asked anxiously, leaning onto his knee and glancing around Jace, making eye contact with Jia. She smiled at him, making her face look much less aged.

"Yes, under the circumstances, we understand." She replied, taking the mortal cup carefully in her hands and bending down to place it in Jace's.

Because Magnus was, as he put it, "a wonderful and kind person," he'd let Simon leave early to ascend.

Still, he'd insisted on having Simon's arm in a sling to avoid injuring it more.

The Clave was a little paranoid about any damage coming to the mortal cup, and they hadn't believed him when Simon insisted that he could drink from the cup one-handed without dropping it.

The task of holding the cup, a truly honorable job, went to Jace. Partly because he was the only one who really cared about it, and partly because Simon had been looking for a way to make him happy.

When he'd finally woken up and was able to think coherently, Simon immediately remembered the pain he'd been in the night before. It had been like a hot, scalding burn that started in his arm and reached every inch of his being.

He also remembered the vague and hazy image of Jace, kneeling next to him and talking to him in a quiet voice.

He assumed that it was a dream.

When he'd asked Magnus, the warlock had told him with a permanent smirk on his face that it was all extremely real. "Like, seriously very real." He'd added helpfully.

Considering the fact that only a year ago Jace resented Simon with all his heart, it was a pretty impressive turn of events. He was sure that if Jace were the one screaming in pain, he'd sit with him and, like, get him some water or something.

Jace had done way more than that.

So when he'd asked, Simon told Jace that he could absolutely hold the mortal cup during his ascension. As a thank you. And also to distract him from the jealous rage that had consumed Jace ever since he'd realized that Simon had accomplished something that he hadn't.

"Are you ready?" Jace asked, bouncing excitedly on his heels.

"Yeah." Simon grinned, glancing over to the front row table where the rest of his friends were seated, Isabelle and Clary talking happily to each other while Magnus and Alec whispered.

"I'm ready. Come on. Let's go."

"Calm down." Jace adjusted his grip on the cup and looking over at Jia with the affirmative hand gesture.

She stood in front of them, her white robes pooling at her feet and dusting the polished wooden floor. "Do you swear, Simon Lewis, to forsake the mundane world and follow the path of the Nephilim? Will you take into yourself the blood..."

He tuned it out. He'd heard this before, it had been driven into his mind by Jace and Alec, specifically because they knew he wouldn't pay attention when the moment came. It was a pre-emptive move to make sure he knew enough.

"I swear." He said steadily.

"Can you be a shield for the weak, a light in the dark, a truth among falsehoods, a tower in the flood, and an eye to see when all others are blind?"

If anyone had been blind, it was him. But being a Shadowhunter would change all that. Wasn't that the point?

"I can." He said obediently.

"And when you are dead, will you give up your body to the Nephilim to be burned, that your ashes may be used to build the City of Bones?"

"I will."

"Then drink."

Jace, with a suddenly very serious expression, tilted the cup toward Simon, letting him grab the cup with his one hand and touch the rim to his lips.

It was supposed to feel like the blood of angels was coursing through him, making him have all the power in the world from one single sip.

Instead, it scorched his mouth and closed his throat.

Simon jerked back, raising his hand to his mouth and hearing nothing but his own heart slamming against his ribcage. He was suffocating, unable to breath until someone pressed a hand to his throat and muttered something, a bright flash of blue and white surfacing.

"You're welcome." He heard Magnus's voice say. "Again."

Simon couldn't talk even if he wanted to, his throat still burned with every breath. He was suddenly acutely aware of four voices talking at once, rising over each other and demanding an explanation.

"He did everything you asked of him!" Clary exclaimed angrily, staring accusingly at Jia. "He's trained for months, he exterminated the nest-"

"No he didn't."

All eyes fell on Alec, who was standing unsteadily by the table. "He didn't destroy it. I did."

It was breathlessly silent, enough to hear his shaky intake of breath at the lack of response.

Finally, slowly, Jia took the cup from Jace and set it back on the stand. When she spoke, it was balanced and steady, like a school teacher dealing with misbehaved students.

"I need you to follow me-"

"No." Clary said sharply, her face red with anger. "You can say it to all of us."

Jia nodded and looked pointedly at Simon, who still knelt on the floor with a look of desperate shock on his face.

"You were aware that the cup would burn you. Why did you still attempt it?"

"I..." He looked desperately at his friends. "I didn't know." He said finally. "I thought I'd done it."

"How?" She asked, doubt written on her face. "How did you not realize when there were still demons surrounding you?"

"I don't know." He said miserably, his voice weighted with disappointment and confusion. "Alec told me..." When he looked toward Alec there was something besides sadness flashing in his eyes. Anger. "You TOLD me that I did it. You lied to me."

"Simon, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. You were injured and I thought-"

"What does this mean?" Simon sharply turned his head, ignoring the rest of Alec's excuses to look at Jia. "What do I do now?"

"I am sorry, Simon." She looked down, her face conflicted yet firm. "After an incident like this, you cannot ascend."

"Wait a second-" Jace tried, seemingly recovered from his state of shock.

"Sed Lex Dura Lex." She said firmly, staring him down with eyes weighted with decision. "The law is hard, but it is the law." She glanced at Alec. "Alexander. After your decision to blatantly disrespect the Clave's wishes, you are no longer in the position to run the New York Institute." She looked around at the faces of every teenager, the way their eyes were wide and their mouths open. "You will all leave by the end of the week. I'm sorry."

She turned and walked away, taking the cup with her. They looked at Simon, watching him with worry clouding their eyes.

"Are you okay?" Isabelle asked him quietly.

"I don't understand." He said to himself, then raising his voice until it was almost a yell, echoing in the wide empty room. "I don't understand why I worked so hard for this, and now it doesn't even happen. I don't even _know _you people!" He exclaimed, shoving a hand through his hair, biting his bottom lip. "I was happy and fine and…_normal _before you all had to come along and...and fuck everything up!" He stared at them, his gaze finally resting on Alec with an expression of pure hatred. "Go to hell."

He turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

"I didn't mean for all this to happen." Alec said wretchedly. "I just didn't want him to die."

They just stared. All of them blank and expressionless, unable to process what had happened. Clary and Jace were still standing together, holding onto each other like it was the only thing keeping them upright.

"It's not like..." Isabelle tried, speaking slowly and carefully. "It's not like you did anything wrong."

"What?" Clary's tone was loaded with incredulity as she stared, disbelieving, at Isabelle. "Are you serious?"

"What else could he have done?" Isabelle snapped. "Are you saying he should have just let Simon die? That's not how we work, Clary. If we see that one of our own is hurt we help them."

"But now we have to leave." Alec sighed heavily, his face the epitome of despair.

"Simon doesn't."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N - So I got a review from someone saying that they wanted to read about Simon ascending. I just wanted to make it clear that the story's ending has already been written. If the only reason you're reading the story is to specifically read Simon's ascension, then don't read it. I ****_will, _****however, write a separate story about his ascension and post that. Again, thanks for reading and reviewing.**

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Maybe if she didn't pack, they wouldn't make her leave.

That line of logic kept Isabelle on her bed, staring up at the ceiling with the feeling that the world was crashing down around her.

"Isabelle Isabelle." A soft voice came from her doorway. She knew who it was without having to look.

"Hey, Jace." She muttered. "What's up?"

"I couldn't pack." He said casually, stepping around her empty boxes on the floor and sitting on the edge of her bed. "And I figured you couldn't either."

"I'm going to miss you so much." She told him, sitting up and tilting her head back to reverse the track of her tears. She felt his arms pulling her closer to him, the scent of him familiar. Jace and Alec were her home. They were her family. She couldn't live without them, without Simon.

"I'm going to miss you too, Iz." He said into her shoulder, smoothing her hair over with his hand. "But it's only for two years."

"'Only.'" She repeated sadly, wiping her eyes and pulling away from him. "This is bullshit. Alec tried so hard to keep everything right. He even stayed away from Magnus, after everything-"Her voice cracked. "It just seems like the Clave is going against everything they stand for."

He was silent for a second, his entire body going still. Then he shot up, his face excited as he took her by both shoulders, shaking her slightly. "You're a freaking genius, Isabelle." He kissed her forehead and dashed over to her desk, beginning to scatter the contents and ransack the entire room.

"What-what are you doing?" She asked, standing up and taking him by the arm.

"Where's your Codex?" His hands were moving mechanically, opening drawers and rifling through stacks of books.

"Um...in the library?"

"Dammit to hell." He muttered, taking her by the wrist and pulling her down the hallway, about to barge into the library when she stopped him.

"Jace!" She tugged his arm back. "We can't just walk in there, Jia and Robert are in there."

"Exactly!" He grinned widely, pulling his arm free and opening the doors. Jia and Robert were seated across from each other, deep in conversation. They both looked up at once when Jace and Isabelle entered, alarmed.

"I need a codex." Jace proclaimed.

"Surely this can wait." Robert told him sharply, glancing apologetically at the Consul.

"Actually it can't." Jace smirked, taking the codex that Isabelle handed him and flipping it open with his thumb. "'How the law affects us.'" He read out loud.

"Jace, please." Robert stood up, Jia stopping him with a hand on his wrist.

"Wait, give him a chance to speak."

Jace smiled at her thankfully, continuing to read. "According to our Codex, a law has long been established staring that _you must never commit a crime against another Shadowhunter._" He looked at Jia pointedly, daring her to argue.

Taking the bait, she responded. "No crime was committed against Simon Lewis." She said firmly. "And he was not yet a Shadowhunter."

"_'To cause another Shadowhunter to come to harm is to benefit the demons who seek to destroy us_.'" He read out, shifting his gaze back up to Jia. "That's exactly what you did. You put Simon directly in the path of demons, a situation that didn't need to arise in the first place. You took our greatest source of evil and put your own against them."

"Simon isn't a Shadowhunter." She responded calmly.

"He's killed several demons. He's fought with us in battles, he was going to ascend." Isabelle spoke up, staring Jia straight in the eye. "You're violating your own laws. And you said yourself, the law is hard but it is the law."

She was silent for a moment, pondering what they'd said. Robert took it upon himself to decide for her. "That doesn't apply-"

"No." Jia finally said. "They're right. The decision was wrong and unjust. In an attempt to sanctify our own morals we contradicted them. The Clave apologizes, and I plan on redacting the act."

Jace and Isabelle exchanged triumphant glances but waited to celebrate, continuing on with confidence.

"So, Simon can stay, right? He can ascend? And Alec can run the institute?"

"Yes, all of you will remain here as long as Alexander can run the institute without any difficulties."

"He can." Jace assured her. "I promise. And just so you know, no other person could ever hamper Alec's ability to run the institute."

"You're talking about Magnus Bane." Jia stated. "And we know that. It's not a problem."

"Great." Jace smiled, fully relaxing now. "I'm glad the Clave has one functioning member."

Instead of protesting like the Clave probably wanted her to, Jia merely grinned and nodded. "Thank you."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N - So this is the last chapter. I loved writing this story and sharing it with everyone. Thank you so so much to ****everyone**** who read and reviewed. If anyone had a prompt for me, just leave it in the review or my messages and I'd be happy to do it :) Thanks so much**

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After a full week of being overwhelmed by guilt for what he'd done and not talking to Magnus, Alec looked terrible. "Do you want me to put makeup on you before we go?" Isabelle offered, reaching for the notorious red and black makeup bag. "It'll make you look less like you're dying."

"No. Thank you." He pushed her hand away. "I don't really care how I look."

"Magnus would like you with makeup." Jace added, grinning at him. "But I guess the head of the institute has to have the no-nonsense look that you usually keep, so it's acceptable."

"I need to get this arm back or I'm going to kill someone." Simon complained from the hallway, trudging in with his sling banging against his chest.

"Well congratulations." Jace gestured for him to sit. "Because we actually need that hand for this."

"Seriously?" He shifted his weight. "I was kidding, really, it still kind of hurts."

"Suck it up, you're a Shadowhunter now." Isabelle pushed him into the chair and carefully unstrapped he sling, setting it on the table. His arm was still heavily wrapped in bandages near his shoulder, the wound still not fully healed. Still, he stretched his arm across the table and put his hand flat on the surface, sliding Alec his stele. "Ready?"

"Yes." Simon confirmed. "And I'm sorry for telling you all to go to hell. Apparently we've _been_ to hell already, which is totally crazy and someone needs to catch me up on that. Anyways, sorry."

"I'm sorry too." Alec told him.

Their eyes met and understanding sparked. The understanding that to be a nephilim you had to sacrifice for your fellow soldiers. For your family. Which is exactly what he did, and exactly what they would continue to do.

As long as they were together.

Alec gripped the stele in his hand, setting it on Simon's skin, and drew.


End file.
